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THE MECHANICS OF ORAL 
EXPRESSION 



BY 



HOWARD STANLEY SMITH, A.B., LL.B. 



THE MECHANICS OF ORAL 
EXPRESSION 



BY 
HOWARD STANLEY SMITH, A.B., LL.B., 

Dean, and Instructor in Public Speaking and Automotive Mechanics 
of the Y. M. C. A. Institute of Dayton, Ohio 

Winner of the Oratorical Contest for State Universities of the United 
States at the St. Louis Exposition in 1904 




DAYTON, OHIO 

Press of The Groneweg Printing Co. 

1921 



A\?> 



-?"& 



Copyright 1921 by Howard Stanley Smith 

MAR 28 192! © clA 612391 



To my wife, Carrie Herbig Smith, who on the 
fifth day of February, nineteen hundred and twenty, 
departed a life of uplifting service, this book is 
dedicated. 



FORWARD. 

A good speaker, provided he has something of interest to 
talk about, possesses the power to command attention. Lead- 
ership in many lines is asserted through the capacity of a 
person to speak in a clear, direct and forceful manner. The 
sharp, distinct command of an officer of the line secures a 
ready response from his men ; while the indistinct utterance 
of an important order may lead to confusion in its execution. 

In the shop, the man at the bench or machine who can give 
an order to others with sufficient force and clearness to inspire 
its efficient execution, has one of the essential qualities of a 
good foreman. The added power of being able to speak know- 
ingly and convincingly to the president or board of directors 
about such important matters as economy and efficiency 
of production, is one of the marks of executive ability which, 
if properly developed, may secure for him who possesses it, a 
manager's position. 

The writer has sought, by mechanical and other examples, 
to bring out clearly and forciby for the engineer, artisan, 
business man and salesman, those fundamental rules of public 
speaking which are most effective at the present day. His 
wide experience as a patent attorney and as an instructor in a 
municipal Y. M. C. A. Institute, has given him a splendid op- 
portunity to ascertain the needs of the engineer, business man 
and others in the way of a short and comprehensive treatise 
on the mechanics of oral expression. 

The voice mechanism, like any other important machine, 
is constructed on scientific lines, and must be kept in proper 
condition at all times to render the most effective service. 
Equally important is its method of operation, which must con- 
form to certain rules regarding speed, rests and other princi- 
ples that will be brought out in the book. The power or force 
of the spoken word is largely dependent upon the proper ob- 
servance of these rules, which will be simply stated and effec- 
tively illustrated by mechanical and other comparisons and 
examples. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Foreword 5 

Chapter I. The Voice Mechanism 9 

Chapter II. Resting Places 16 

Chapter III. Force 19 

Chapter IV. Clearness 25 

Chapter V. Rapidity of Utterance 28 

Chapter VI. Change of Tone 31 

Chapter VII. Appeal to the Eye Through Pictures 35 



CHAPTER I. 



THE VOICE MECHANISM 

As one needs to study the explosive engine to understand 
the most common propelling means of an automobile, so must 
the voice mechanism be examined closely to ascertain how the 
power of human utterance is developed. The sound which 
issues from the lips is not the effect of one cause any more 
than is the force which impels the piston of an explosive engine. 
It is the product of the lungs, the voice box and many other 
organs of the human body, just as the power which drives the 
piston is developed by the carbureter, the storage battery and 
other parts of an automobile. 

Sound is produced by the vibration imparted to elastic 
bodies by different mediums. In the human voice the elements 
that are set in motion to produce sound, are the vocal cords or 
ligaments that respond freely to the exciting force, which is 
air. As air is drawn into the carbureter of an explosive engine 
during the suction stroke of the piston, so is air drawn into the 
human lungs by the inspirational act of breathing. 

THE LUNGS 

The lungs are two elastic bodies of conical shape that re- 
ceive air from the bronchial tubes. They are set in two lateral 
cavities of the chest and have broad concave bases that rest 
upon the diaphragm. During the inspirational act of breath- 
ing, the capacity of the chest cavities is so expanded that air 
will rush into them through the bronchial tubes to fill the 
vacuum created in the air cells of the lungs, just as it rushes 
into a carbureter on the inlet stroke of the piston. 

9 



10 The Voice Mechanism 

The lungs will not function properly unless they are prop- 
erly developed and cared for. The practice of taking long and 
deep breaths in the fresh air is to be encouraged. Pure air is 
as essential to the proper development of the lungs as distilled 
water or pure rain water is to the life of a storage battery. 
It is a well known fact that if water free from impurities is 
not frequently added to a storage battery, the plates will sul- 
phate or harden in much the same manner that tubercles will 
form in the lungs if they are not given proper care. Therefore, 
physical exercise in the open air should be regularly carried 
on to insure bodily health and vigor, as well as to produce 
strong air currents for the proper vibration of the sound pro- 
ducing vocal cords. 

THE DIAPHRAGM 

The enlargement of the chest cavity to permit the lungs to 
receive air, and the subsequent diminution of that cavity to 
expel the air from those organs, is largely due to a dome- 
shaped muscle known as the diaphragm. The latter forms the 
floor of the chest, which is convex until it contracts, when it 
becomes nearly a plane figure. During inspiration, the con- 
traction of the diaphragm, accompanied by the expansion of 
the walls of the chest, creates in the chest cavity a vacuum 
that causes oxygen-laden air to rush in and fill the lungs in 
much the same manner that the gasoline-laden air is drawn 
into the cylinder of an explosive engine to fill the space above* 
the piston when the latter descends on its suction stroke. 
Then, when the diaphragm relaxes during respiration, it will 
exert an upward force which, plus that effected by the con- 
traction of the walls of the chest, will expel the foul air from 
the lungs in a manner similar to the expulsion of the exhaust 
gases from the cyinder of an explosive engine during the up- 
ward movement of the piston. 

A speaker who desires his words to be clear, forceful and 
distinct, should expand and contract his chest from the waist 
up, for then the abdominal and other muscles will so co-operate 
with the diaphragm during the breathing operations that the 



The Voice Mechanism 11 

chest cavity will be enlarged and diminished along all of its 
diameters. The lungs, therefore, will receive and give out 
their maximum charge of air. 

THE VOCAL CORDS 

There is no better instance of the way nature makes use of 
its by-products than that furnished by the employment of the 
air which the lungs expel, for the purpose of setting in action 
the voice mechanism. This stream of what might become 
wasted air, gives to the human body one of its most wonderful 
powers— that of oral expression. 

The air currents as they are sent forth from the lungs, are 
conducted by a tube called the trachea or wind pipe, to the 
larynx — a cartilaginous box that is approximately triangular 
in shape and which terminates at its front portion in a ridge 
popularly known as "Adam's Apple." Connected across the 
middle portion of this cartilaginous structure are two mem- 
braneous ligaments between which is left a chink or slit run- 
ning from front to rear. 

The vocal cords, when at rest, are wrinkled and devoid of 
tension, but when struck by a current of air expelled from the 
lungs, they are put under sufficient tension for vibration. 
The degree of tension under which they may be placed, and the 
intensity of the force of the air currents played upon them, 
will determine the character of the sound which they will pro- 
duce. Like two cat-gut strings disposed across a relatively 
triangular box, the vocal cords will produce a high note when, 
under great tension, they are struck by air currents, and a 
note lower in pitch when that tension is relaxed. 

MODIFICATION OF THE SOUNDS PRODUCED 
BY THE VOCAL CORDS 

As steel ingots when they come from the molds, need to be 
forged and machined into finished mechanical parts, so must 
the sounds produced by the vocal cords, be formed and shaped 
in their passage through the mouth and nose to convert them 
into clear, distinct and forceful parts of speech. 



12 The Voice Mechanism 

The manner of changing the intensity of a current of elec- 
tricity, in many of its aspects, bears a close relation to the 
modification of the sound currents in their passage through 
the human mouth. By adjusting the aperture between the 
lips, or by projecting the tongue or teeth into the path of the 
expiratory air currents from the lungs, we can modify these 
currents as readily and effectively as we can vary the intensity 
of electric currents by interposing the graduated resistance of 
a rheostat or other regulating device in the circuit through 
which they pass. 

THE VOWELS 

The vowel sounds, which are continuous so long as respira- 
tion can be sustained, require but slight modification in their 
passage through the mouth, and should be permitted to die 
away gradually. In other words, the vowels, which are repre- 
sented the letters a, e, i, o and u, and sometimes w and y, 
and their combinations, require practically no resistance other 
than that offered by the form of aperture between the lips, 
to distinguish them from one another. It will be noticed that 
the mouth is opened wider, and the lips are drawn back farther 
when the vowel sound ah is uttered than when the vowel 
sound u is given. 

As a storage battery should not be permitted to attain a 
state of complete discharge, so should the lungs, which are the 
bellows for the voice, never be entirely emptied of air. The 
vowel sounds, in particular, will be uttered more smoothly, 
and with less fatigue, if a fresh breath is taken before all of 
the previously inspired air has been completely expelled from 
the lungs. The vowel sounds, being continuous, should not 
begin too abruptly, nor end too suddenly; and when these 
sounds neither begin nor end a word, they should blend into 
the sounds that precede or follow them. 

THE CONSONANTS 

The consonants are sounds which are produced by bringing 
such organs as the tongue and teeth into the path of the air 



The Voice Mechanism 13 

currents during their passage through the mouth, just as an 
induction coil is inserted in an electric circuit to increase the 
pressure or voltage of the current. The consonant sounds can- 
not be said to have the volume of the vowels any more, than 
the induced electric currents can be said to have the watts of 
the primary currents; but the force with which the air cur- 
rents are expelled, is momentarily increased to enable them to 
issue rapidly through the small aperture between the lips, 
tongue and teeth to produce the consonants, just as the press- 
ure of the electric current is increased by the induction coil to 
enable it to jump the air gap between the electrodes of a spark 
plug in an exposive engine. 

THE EXPLOSIVE CONSONANTS 

"Explosive," therefore, seems to be the word that will best 
define the principal class to which the consonants belong. 
Among these explosive consonants are the sounds p, h, t and 
d, which begin and end abruptly, as in the words "paint," 
"bill," "tool" and "die." 

Take, for example, the letters p and b which, because they 
are formed by the interruption of the air currents by the lips, 
are called labials. To utter p and d sounds, as in "pin" 
and "box," the pressure of the air currents is momentarily in- 
creased behind the closed lips, just as the electrical pressure 
is momentarily increased behind the air gap in a spark plug. 
The compressed air is then suddenly released by a quick open- 
ing of the lips to produce the explosive sound. 

It is necessary, therefore, in order to utter the explosive 
consonants forcibly and distinctly, to accumulate the air cur- 
rents momentarily behind the lips in the case of the labials 
p and b; behind the tip of the tongue and the teeth in the 
case of the dentals t and d, and at the root of the tongue in 
the case of the gutterals k and g, until there is sufficient air 
pressure developed to utter these sounds in an explosive 
manner. 

Similarly, air should be momentarily compressed behind 
the tongue and teeth when the consonant sound th is uttered. 



14 The Voice Mechanism 

Foreigners, particularly, have much difficulty in uttering this 
sound. They usually substitute the dental "d" for the "th" 
sound in such words as "the," "this," "that" and "those." 
If one would always remember to project the tongue beyond 
the teeth before uttering the "th" sound, and then draw the 
tongue inwardly as the air pressure behind the tongue is re- 
leased, that sound can be readily and correctly produced. 

THE SEMI-EXPLOSIVE CONSONANTS 

When the air currents that pass through the mouth are 
momentarily put under pressure, and then gradually released, 
the semi-explosive consonants /, v, s, sh, and r are properly 
uttered. For instance, when those air currents, upon release, 
are caused to issue through a small opening between the teeth, 
the aspirate s is produced ; and when they escape continuously, 
but not explosively, through a small opening between the lips, 
the sounds /and v are formed. Words in which these letters 
are the initial ones, appear in the following sentence: 

"Sentiment favors the victor." 

THE NASALS 

The nasals are those sounds which are formed when the 
air currents pass partly through the nose and partly through 
the mouth. These sounds, which are represented by the letters 
m and n and the combination ng, are in the nature of con- 
tinuous consonants, since they do not require the momentary 
storage of pressure behind them, and come forth, not in an 
explosive or semi^explosive manner, but gradually and 
smoothly like the vowels. 

I would, therefore, divide the principal consonants into the 
following classes: 

First, those consonants which are exposives, in that they 
require a momentary accumulation and release of air currents 
to form them. Such consonants as p, b, t, d, k and th would 
properly belong to this class. 

Second, those consonants such as /, v, s, sh, and r, which 



The Voice Mechanism 15 

are semi-explosive in their nature, in that the air currents are 
momentarily put under pressure and then gradually released 
to produce them. 

Third, such consonants as m, n and ng, which are continu- 
ous in their nature, since they do not begin suddenly nor end 
abruptly, resembling the vowels in all respects except that the 
air currents pass partly through the nose instead of entirely 
through the mouth. 



CHAPTER II. 



RESTING PLACES 

For its successful operation, the voice mechanism requires 
frequent and adequate rests. Human beings and inanimate 
objects derive from frequent rest periods, a lubricant that 
makes them more efficient and prolongs their lives. Lord 
Kelvin demonstrated that iron wires kept in constant motion 
throughout the week, act quite differently after a Sunday's 
rest. 

Resting places during a speech or address fulfill a two-fold 
purpose ; they enable one to avoid fatigue, and they make more 
emphatic the words which one utters. It may be well to say 
in this connection, that in reading aloud from a printed or 
written article, the resting places do not always occur at the 
places indicated by the punctuation marks. Since the voice 
requires more frequent rests than the eye, it may be proper to 
pause one or more times between punctuation marks. In the 
following sentence taken from an address by Mr. Charles F. 
Kettering on the "Future of the Aeroplane Industry," there 
is no punctuation mark save the period, and no other is needed. 

"I believe that the Lord will not tolerate much longer 
our throwing away 90% of the useful work in a gallon of 
gasoline." 

The eye can readily take in the meaning conveyed by that 
sentence without the assistance of a comma placed between 
"longer" and "our," but when the sentence is uttered aloud, 
the speaker can take a full breath before its conclusion, and 
make that which follows the word "longer" more emphatic, 
by pausing before the word "our." 

16 



Resting Places 17 

The rule for selecting resting places for the voice during a 
speech or an address, can be stated as follows : 

A speaker may properly pause to breathe, before those 
parts of a sentence that should be made emphatic. 

The omission of the word "and" in a. sentence is nearly 
always the signal for a pause. Accordingly, where there are 
a number of important words which one desires to utter in 
succession without using the word "and" between them, a 
pause before each one of those words will properly emphasize 
it. Let us take for illustration, the following part of a procla- 
mation delivered by General Allenby to the people of Jeru- 
salem upon his first official entry into that city after its 
capture by the British in 1917. 

"I make it known to you that every sacred building, 
monument, holy spot, shrine, traditional 
site, endowment, pious bequest, or customery 
place of prayer of whatsoever form of the three re- 
ligions will be maintained according to the existing 
customs and beliefs of those to whose faith they are 
sacred." 

By pausing before "monument," "holy spot," "shrine," 
"traditional site," "endowment," "pious bequest," "or cus- 
tomary place of prayer" and "will be maintained," the above 
sentence may be spoken in a very emphatic manner. 

A salesman can make particular use of the pause in a dem- 
onstration of the article which he sells. The following excerpt 
from the "N. C. R. Selling Plan" can be most effectively pre- 
sented by pausing at the places indicated by the wide spaces 
between the words: 

"The printed receipt and the original and duplicate 
sales slip with printed register figures of the sale will 
prevent forgotten charges, prevent disputes with cus- 
tomers, protect children and servants, protect your 
good will, the influence of your trade, and the good 
name of your help." 



18 Resting Places 

By pausing for a short period at each one of the places indi- 
cated, a salesman will be able orally to separate each point 
from the other, thereby enabling a prospective purchaser the 
better to take in the meaning of each advantage of the printed 
receipt. On the other hand, if no pauses are observed, all of 
those points will run together as in a blurred picture, and the 
salesman will have wasted his effort in presenting them. 

In scientific addresses by engineers, doctors and other pro- 
fessional men, a generous use of the pause will help the audi- 
ence the more readily to comprehend complex and technical 
data. For instance, by observing the pauses indicated when 
stating Newton's general law of gravitation, one's auditors 
will better comprehend its meaning than if the different 
clauses were not so separated. 

"Every particle in the solar system attracts every 
other particle with a force which is proportional to the 
product of their masses and which varies inversely as 
the square of their distances apart." 

Thus it will be observed that it is very important to select 
resting places in reading or speaking, not only to relieve the 
voice of fatigue, but to enable one's auditors more easily and 
understandingly to take in the meaning of the thoughts con- 
veyed by the words which are uttered. For the same reason 
that a gun when given a short rest between shots, will work 
with greater efficiency, one should, in speaking, rest or pause 
frequently to take a breath, thereby avoiding fatigue and pre- 
paring the minds of the hearers to receive the statement which 
is to follow. 



CHAPTER III. 



FORCE 



The successful operation of the voice mechanism is also 
largely dependent upon that quality in an individual which 
we call "force." Force may be said to be the energy of utter- 
ance. As in coal and gas we find the latent energy that is 
transformed into the driving power of steam, so in man there 
is present a latent force which, by proper development, may 
be translated into the compelling power of speech and person- 
ality. 

In public speaking, force is not measured by loudness and 
excessive gesture any more than the driving power of an en- 
gine is manifested by noise and vibration. Force in man is 
developed by wholesome, intensive and purposeful living, and 
is expressed chiefly through personality. When one meets a 
forceful man, even though he remains silent, one is at once 
struck with the gripping power of his presence. Then, when 
the force of personality is placed behind the power of ex- 
pression, one adds greatly to the influence that may be exerted 
by the possession of this quality. 

Great public speakers, even though they may differ in 
style of composition and manner of delivery, have one striking 
trait in common, and that is force. The late Theodore Roose- 
velt was perhaps the most forceful man of modern times, be- 
cause of his steadfast purpose and intensive effort to develop 
morally, mentally and physically for unstinted service to his 
fellow man. 

From no greater teacher than the late Theodore Roosevelt 
can one learn the lesson of the compelling power of force in 

19 



20 Force 

modern public speaking. To use a slang expression, his 
speeches "bristled with pep," or as another would state it, 
"they had the kick in them/' To a style of composition that 
could hardly be excelled, he added a strikingly forceful delivery. 
The following paragraph, taken from the last public state- 
ment of Theodore Roosevelt, and read to The American De- 
fense Society on the eve of his death, is intensely forceful and 
patriotic : 

"We have room for but one flag, the American flag, 
and this excludes the red flag, which symbolizes all wars 
against liberty and civilization just as much as it excludes 
any foreign flag of a nation to which we are hostile. We 
have room for but one language here, and that is the 
English language, for we intend to see that the crucible 
turns our people out as Americans, of American nation- 
ality and not as dwellers in a polyglot boarding house, and 
we have room but for one soul loyalty, and that is loyalty 
to the American people." 

ARGUMENT 

Force in argument is the power that one has to move an- 
other to conviction. To cultivate it one must put behind his 
words sufficient nervous energy and physical vigor to persuade 
or convince. The personal magnetism of great debaters like 
Daniel Webster and Edmund Burke was so appealing as fre- 
quently to compel strangers passing one of them on the street, 
to turn around and exclaim, "There goes a great man." 

The business man can acquire the compelling power of 
force by enthusiastically and efficiently promoting his busi- 
ness ; the engineer can cultivate it by studiously and conscien- 
tiously applying himself to'his chosen line; and the artisan can 
develop it by vigorously and intelligently performing the task 
at hand. By thus acquiring force, the business man, engineer 
and artisan are storing up sufficient power and energy to 
make their words carry conviction in conversation and public 
address. 

The person who is enthusiastically awake to his opportu- 



Force 21 

nities, and is continuously on the job developing them, is not 
going to let his auditors go to sleep when he talks to them. 
Force, more than any other quality in a speaker, will hold open 
the eyelids of his hearers to make them alert to catch the 
message which he has to give them. As a magnet throws out 
its little lines of force to attract another body to it, so a force- 
ful speaker, through his mental alertness and physical vigor, 
attracts and holds the attention of his auditors. 

Force, like an explosive behind a shell, may differ in kind 
and degree. In argumentation, particuarly where a speaker 
desires to move an audience to conviction on an issue of great 
importance, the maximum amount of force should be applied 
in an explosive manner, to those words which express the 
principal points of the argument. Demosthenes put all the 
force of his energetic personality into the "Oration on the 
Crown," because it required a supreme effort on his part to 
demolish the mountain of abuse heaped upon him by a rival. 

The hostile mob that greeted Henry Ward Beecher in Liver- 
pool during the Civil War, was in a great measure calmed, 
and convinced of the justice of the cause of the North, by his 
superbly forceful speech, of which the following is a striking 
part: 

"And now in the future it is the work of every good 
man and patriot not to create divisions, but to do things 
that will make for peace. On our own part it shall be 
done. On your part it ought to be done ; and when in any 
of the convulsions that come upon the world, Great Britain 
finds herself struggling single-handed against the gigantic 
powers that spread oppression and darkness, there ought 
to be such cordiality that she can turn and say to her 
first born and illustrious child, 'Come!' I will not say 
that England cannot, again, as hitherto, single-handed, 
manage any power, but I will say that England and Amer- 
ica, together for religion and liberty, are a match for the 
world." 

The above paragraph is a splendid one to utter aloud for 
the practice it gives in the application of force. 



22 Force 

NARRATION AND DESCRIPTION 

Force in a more restrained degree is required in narration 
and description, for in speeches which relate and describe there 
is not so much at stake as in those which seek to persuade and 
convince. The more force with which we can drive home our 
points in a sale, lawsuit or any other matter requiring a de- 
cision, the more likely we shall be to receive it. In narration 
and description, where we are principally concerned with events 
that have passed and decisions which have been made, a more 
limited or moderate degree of force is appropriate. Force 
should never be slighted, however, but should be applied in a 
degree that is suited to the subject and the occasion. 

Throughout the entire range of history there is no better 
example of a calmly forceful address than that delivered by 
Abraham Lincoln at the dedication of Gettysburg Cemetery. 
The unparalleled force of his simple, plain, Anglo-Saxon sen- 
tences setting forth the advantages of liberty and equality, 
seemed to take renewed hold upon the free peoples of the world 
during the great European War, and impelled them to fight, 
as never before, that the blessings of Democracy might "not 
perish from the earth." This address, which is given below, 
ought to be read aloud frequently for the splendid practice it 
will give the reader in public speaking. 

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought 
forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in lib- 
erty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are 
created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, 
testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived 
and so dedicated, can long endure. 

"We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We 
have met to dedicate a portion of it as the final resting 
place of those who here gave their lives that that nation 
might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we 
should do this. But in a larger sense we cannot dedicate, 
we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. 
The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have 
consecrated it far beyond our power to acid or detract. 



Force 25 

The world will little note, nor long remember, what we 
say here; but it can never forget what they did here. 

"It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated to the 
unfinished work that they have thus far so nobly carried 
on. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great 
task remaining before us ; that from these honored dead 
we take increased devotion to that cause for which they 
here gave the last full measure of devotion ; that we here 
highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain ; 
that this nation shall, under God, have a new birth of 
freedom, and that the government of the people, by the 
people, and for the people, shall not perish from the 
earth." 



More than fifty years later, after another decisive battle 
of the world's history, that great English Orator and States- 
man, David Lloyd George, at the citadel of Verdun, re-echoed 
the sentiments of Lincoln's Gettysberg Address when, with 
much force, he said: 

"The memory of the victorious resistance of Verdun 
will be immortal, because Verdun saved not only France, 
but the whole of the great cause which is common to our- 
selves and humanity. The evil working force of the enemy 
has broken itself against the heights around this old cita- 
del as an angry sea breaks upon a granite rock. These 
heights have conquered the storm which threatened the 
world. 

"I am deeply moved when I tread this sacred soil, and 
I do not speak for myself alone. I bring to you a tribute 
of the admiration of my country, of the great empire 
which I represent here. They bow with me before your 
sacrifice and before your glory. Once again, for the de- 
fense of the great causes with which its very future is 
bound up, mankind turns to France." 

Force is the effectiveness with which words are spoken, 
whether their purpose be to convince, narrate or describe. 
The business man who, in an energetic and vigorous manner, 
exclaims: "My goods are built on honor," will do immeas- 
urably more toward convincing another of the truth of that 



I 



24 



Force 



statement than if he were to utter it in an unconcerned and 
listless way. 

Force is electric in its influence and gripping in its power. 
It impels and moves men to conviction and action; and holds 
their attention and interest when instruction and entertain- 
ment, and not action, are the ends in view. 



CHAPTER IV. 



CLEARNESS 

The power developed by the speech mechanism can best be 
transmitted to others by shafts of simple, clear and forceful 
English. Clearness is that quality in a speaker's style and 
delivery that enables the hearer to absorb readily and accu- 
rately the meaning of his words. This is accomplished chiefly 
by the use of clear, strong and simple English. Language, 
like gesture, must not attract attention to itself, but should be 
the medium of conveying ideas to others in such a way that 
they will not think of the words at all. 

Abraham Lincoln's language, noted for its simplicity and 
clearness, conveyed his great thoughts to millions whom the 
high-sounding words of other speakers failed to reach. How 
clear and simple, and how beautiful and forceful, are the con- 
cluding words of his second inaugural: 

"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with 
firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let 
us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the 
nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the 
battle, and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which 
may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among 
ourselves and with all nations." 

SIMPLE WORDS 

It is well to avoid the use of large and strange words in a 
selling talk. An adding machine salesman, instead of saying: 

25 



26 Clearness 

"The accuracy with which our machine performs its 
adding functions will astonish you," can convey that mean- 
ing with greater brevity and clearness by saying: "Our 
machine adds correctly at all times." 

One runs a great risk in making a sweeping statement like 
the first, for a prospective purchaser may not understand it; 
lie may look upon it as exceedingly boastful, or he may believe 
that you think he has never heard of an adding machine. 

In the second instance, you make a clear-cut, simple and 
positive statement of what the machine will do without placing 
upon the prospective purchaser an additional burden of stop- 
ping to figure out the meaning of the words used. It is proper 
to use simple words that everyone can understand, for then a 
prospective purchaser will be able to take in readily and accu- 
rately the meaning of what is said without thinking of the 
words at all. 

SHORT SENTENCES 

Clearness in public speaking is also attained by the use of 
short sentences, which, like simple words, are readily under- 
stood. The short sentence conveys one idea at a time, with 
ample pause at the beginning and the end to enable the mind 
to absorb its meaning. The long sentence, on the other hand, 
requires a sustained effort on the part of the hearer to grasp 
its import. 

All sentences should not be short, however, for they would 
give a jerky form of expression. Long sentences, therefore, 
should be used as a sort of lubricant with the short ones to 
make the speech or conversation free from the harsh or grating 
effect that too frequent pauses would give. 

In a selling talk, there is no better way to present clearly 
and effectively the points one desires to make, than by the 
use of short sentences in connection with just enough long 
ones to avoid the effect of jerkiness. The following appeal of 
an advertising solicitor shows the free use of the short sen- 
tence. It will be noted that a moderately long sentence fre- 



Clearness 27 

-quently follows one or more short ones to give smoothness to 
the whole. 

"Mr. Jones : Your concern has the reputation of rarely 
losing a customer. The excellence of your products ac- 
counts for that. To find more users for you to satisfy is 
my business. With that end in view I desire to bring 
forcibly to your attention the value of the publication 
which I represent, as an advertising medium. 

"Our circulation is largely among contractors. They 
are extensive users of your products. Home builders, too, 
in an ever increasing number, are becoming regular sub- 
scribers to our 'Building News' magazine. 

"We believe that the placing of your advertisement in 
the 'Building News' will rapidly increase your business. 
All but a very few of our subscribers are purchasers of 
products in your line. Having satisfied the users to whom 
you have sold for years, why not increase the number of 
such users by advertising in the 'Building News'." 

In scientific addresses, particularly to non-technical audi- 
cnres, clearness should be one of the principal aims of the 
speaker. This can best be effected by the frequent use of 
simple words and short sentences. Professor Michael Faraday 
in his famous lecture on the "Chemical History of a Candle," 
spoke clearly and forcibly when he said : 

"You remember that when a candle burns badly it 
produces smoke; but if it is burning well, there is no 
smoke. And you know that the brightness of the candle 
is due to this smoke which becomes ignited. Here is an 
experiment to prove this. So long as the smoke remains 
in the flame of the candle and becomes ignited, it gives a 
beautiful light, and never appears to us in the form of 
black particles." 

A clear presentation of a highly technical subject is quite 
an art. It ought to be cultivated by every speaker who ad- 
dresses an assembly composed largely of non-technical hearers ; 
otherwise they will waste their time in listening to language 
they do not understand. 



CHAPTER V. 



RAPIDITY OF UTTERANCE 

The rate at which the voice mechanism should be operated 
is a subject of much importance in public speaking. It is well 
known that an engine will run slower under a heavy load than 
under a light one, provided the amount of power delivered to 
it remains the same. Similarly in speaking, rapidity of utter- 
ance is controlled largely by the weight and importance of the 
subject matter talked about. One hardly would expect to hear 
the words, "This is a grave and critical period/' uttered as 
rapidly as the words, "Today we shall enjoy ourselves." 

When the subject matter of a speech or address is of such 
great importance that many of the words to be used by a 
speaker have been weighed and thought over by him before- 
hand, they should be uttered slowly and deliberately to achieve 
the result they are intended to accomplish. It is difficult to 
believe that Lincoln ever spoke more slowly and deliberately 
than when he uttered the following words in his first 
inaugural : 

"I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. 
We must not be enemits. Though passion may have 
strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The 
mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battle- 
field and patriot grave to every living heart and hearth- 
stone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of 
Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the 
better angels of our nature." 

Occasions of great gravity and importance call for a slow 
and deliberate delivery, because it exhibits a proper respect on 

28 



Rapidity of Utterance 29 

the part of the speaker for the seriousness of the subject dis- 
cussed and begets the confidence and close attention of the 
auditors. 

THE MODERATELY RAPID RATE 

Except when presenting a matter of unusual importance to 
an individual or a group of persons, a business man is not ex- 
pected — indeed he cannot afford — to take the time to speak 
in a slow manner. Accordingly, he may increase his rate of 
delivery, provided he does not sacrifice clearness in so doing. 
A moderately rapid speaker is usually a forceful speaker; and 
if a salesman or other business man can speak distinctly while 
speaking rapidly, he will add to what he has to say, a degree 
of force which a slow speaker seldom exhibits. 

In view of what has been said, it is recommended that a 
moderately rapid rate of expression be employed in speaking 
upon all ordinary matters of business, provided the words are 
spoken in a clear and distinct manner, and pauses are made 
at the proper places. Frequent resting places are more nec- 
essary where the rate is fairly rapid, than in the case of a 
slow delivery, since voice fatigue and lack of clearness are apt 
to be greater where pauses are not observed. 

The order of an executive can be made very effective when 
delivered in a fairly rapid and vigorous manner. The follow- 
ing order should be so uttered : 

''All employes of this plant are directed to put forth 
their best efforts to finish the government contract on 
time." 

One should not give such an order in any other than a 
moderately rapid and vigorous manner, for if one expects an 
order to be expeditiously and efficiently carried out, he should 
give it in an energetic way. 

A salesman shoud bear in mind that, in an approach and 
demonstration, he must conserve the time of the prospective 
purchaser as well as his own. Accordingly, he ought so to 
gauge his rate of utterance as to present to the prospective 



30 Rapidity of Utterance 

purchaser the greatest number of points possible in the time 
at his disposal, without sacrificing any of his power of persua- 
son or conviction in so doing. 

In the first place, a moderately rapid rate of utterance will 
compliment the prospective purchaser, for it will make him 
feel that the salesman realizes the value of his time. In the 
second place, a vigorous, energetic and forceful appeal will 
be more apt to convince the prospective purchaser of the need 
of the article in question, than a slow, reserved and time- 
taking description of its qualities. And in the third place, the 
salesman will be able to cover more ground in a selling talk 
when a moderately rapid rate of utterance is employed, pro- 
vided his words are spoken distinctly and are separated by 
frequent pauses. 

In a scientific address, except at those places where im- 
portant technical data is being presented, a moderately rapid 
rate of utterance is appropriate. The principal reason why 
so many scientific lectures or addresses appear to drag, is be- 
cause the speaker has a slow delivery and fails to put suffi- 
cient force and vigor behind his words to make them gripping. 
A frequent use of the simile, or of comparisons with known 
things, will make technical data and figures more interesting, 
than by a mere recitation of the facts and figures themselves. 
For illustration, it is better to say at a moderately rapid rate 
"that it would take a train traveling 60 miles an hour, without 
stopping, 178 years to reach the sun," than to say slowly "that 
the sun is 92,900,000 miles away." 



CHAPTER VI. 



CHANGE OF TONE 

"We progress through change" is one of the mottoes of a 
great factory. This motto has a striking application to the 
art of public speaking, for a speaker who does not frequently 
change his tone, will not succeed in holding the attention of 
an audience. 

Nothing is more tiresome than to listen to a person present 
a subject in a monotone. It is like traveling across a weary 
desert, with nothing to see but the seemingly unending waste. 

A salesman needs to vary his tone to hold the attention of 
a prospective purchaser. He will do well to change it fre- 
quently, for nothing will add more to the effectiveness of the 
approach and demonstration than versatility. 

A talk given without change of tone is like a picture painted 
in one color ; it will not have the attractive qualities of one on 
which a variety of colors is used. It, therefore, behooves a 
speaker to vary his tones as a painter changes his colors. 

THE LOW TONE 

The low tone is the proper one to use in speaking upon a 
subject of great gravity and importance. For example, such a 
statement as: 

"The rapidly decreasing business of this company de- 
mands your earnest consideration," 

is sufficiently serious to warrant its utterance in a deep tone 
by an officer who makes it to a board of directors. 

31 



32 Change of Tone 

An insurance agent may use a low tone in making the 
following statement to a prospective risk: 

"This policy will not only afford protection to your 
family in the event you die, but it will be an investment 
from which you will derive profit while you live." 

THE MODERATE TONE 

In ordinary conversation and the usual business discourse, 
a more moderate tone is appropriate. In a moderate tone one 
business man may say to another: 

"I hope you will accept my proposition, for I believe 
it would benefit both of us." 



HIGH DEGREE OF PITCH 

Extreme pleasure or gratification is usually expressed on 
the higher degrees of pitch. For example, emphasis may be 
given to the following statement by delivering it upon a high 
degree of pitch : 

"In view of the splendid business which we did last 
year, our directors are happy to announce that a 10% 
dividend has been declared on the common stock." 

INFLECTION 

Inflection, or the tone curve from one degree of pitch to 
another, is a subject that deserves considerable attention. 
This tone curve should rise or fall in accordance with definite 
rules, for a rising inflection, or a falling inflection, improperly 
used, reduces the force of the utterance. 

Speakers who apply the rising inflection to every state- 
ment, fall into the offensive sing-song habit ; while those who 
continuously use the falling inflection, err almost as much in 
the other direction. 



Change of Tone 33 

THE RISING INFLECTION 

The rising inflection, or upward tone curve, should be em- 
ployed in asking questions requiring "yes" or "no" for an 
answer, and in making statements that are not positive or de- 
cisive in character. 

this ?" may be 
accept 
to 
going 
you 
The question, "Are 

answered by "yes" or "no," and therefore, as indicated by the 
upward curve, requires the rising inflection. In other words, 
the tone of the voice should be higher at the end, than at the 
beginning of the sentence. 

Furthermore, in cases where the mind is not fully made up 
as to a course of action, the rising inflection should be em- 
ployed. 

machine", requires 
that 
buy 
to 
hope 
The statement, "I 

the rising inflection, since the one making it has not fully 
made up his mind as to his course of action. 

THE FALLING INFLECTION 

On the other hand, if the statement were : 

"I 
will 

buy 

that 

machine", 

then the falling inflection 

would best express its decisive character; that is, the voice 
should fall at the end of the sentence. 



34 Change of Tone 

Resolve or determination also is best expressed by the use 
of the falling inflection. The statement: 

"Our 

company- 
is 
determined 

to 
give 

high 

grade 

service", 

calls for the falling inflection to make it emphatic. 

The downward tone curve adds more force and carries more 
conviction than the rising one. It, therefore, should be used 
whenever the impression of positiveness is to be conveyed. 
A coffee salesman who, using the falling inflection, says : 

"Our 

coffee 

has 
a 
distinctive 

flavor", will be more apt 
to convince a prospective purchaser of the truth of that state- 
ment than one who uses a rising tone in making it. 

In speaking, the falling inflection adds force to a declarative 
or positive statement, just as in Physics, gravity supplies the 
impelling force to a descending body. Conviction is carried by 
the downward tone curve, and particularly is this so in Sales- 
manship. By employing the falling inflection, an automobile 
salesman may make emphatic every sentence of the following 
appeal to a prospective purchaser: 

"Our car is noted for its artistic design and perfect 
workmanship. Its most important part, the motor, is 
practically noiseless in operation and simple in construc- 
tion. Motors long in use in our machines, supply the best 
evidence of their lasting qualities. The gears, bearings, 
shafts, axles, wheels, and, in fact, all parts of the machine, 
are made by expert workmen from selected material. 
You will make no mistake in purchasing one of our cars." 



CHAPTER VII. 



APPEAL TO THE EYE THROUGH PICTURES 

In addition to the mechanical elements which the body 
itself supplies for oral expression, there are certain outside 
means which may be employed to reinforce the spoken word. 

It is an old adage that "pictures speak louder than words." 
But when pictures and words are used together to convey 
thoughts, we have a combination that is strikingly effective 
in its appeal. 

However, the spoken word and the picture must not be 
employed haphazardly, for one may neutralize or destroy the 
effect of the other. In order to be effective, their presentation 
must be in proper sequence, and conform to certain rules. 
For instance, a picture that is thrown upon the screen a long 
time before or after the spoken words concerning it, are 
uttered, will fail to make a related appeal to the eye and the 
ear of the auditor. 

The following rules are recommended for a speaker to ob- 
serve when using a stereoptican or moving picture machine to 
illustrate his remarks. 

THE TIME FOR SHOWING THE PICTURE 

It is quite important that the picture illustrating the sub- 
ject talked about, be thrown upon the screen at the proper 
time. Since the appeal to the eye is stronger than the appeal 
to the ear, the picture ought to be exhibited as a powerful 
climax to the speaker's words. Therefore, it is advisable in 
most instances, first to describe the subject, and immediately 
thereafter to have the picture illustrating it, exhibited. In 

35 



36 Appeal to the Eye Through Pictures 

this way the auditors are preparing to understand and enjoy 
the picture without being required to wait for a subsequent 
explanation of it. 

By way of illustration, let it be assumed that a lecturer 
who is talking upon a travel subject has for exhibition a pic- 
ture of a beautiful mountain scene in Colorado. If the hearers 
were not told in advance the subject of this picture, they would 
not know what it was until after it was exhibited: On the 
other hand, if the speaker should tell them that the next pic- 
ture would be a photograph of an attractive mountain slope in 
Colorado, and describe in advance some of its striking char- 
acteristics, they would be prepared to look for and appreciate 
the beautiful features of the scene without having their view 
of it interrupted by his words during its exhibition. If the 
preliminary explanation of it is complete, the picture will speak 
for itself when it is displayed. 

Again, a speaker on community welfare work may arouse 
the expectancy of his audience in a striking picture on the 
slums, by giving an oral outline of it before it is shown. Then, 
when the picture is thrown upon the screen, his hearers may 
give it their undivided attention. In other words, 

the picture will have more force if it is the climax of, 
and not the introduction to, the speaker's words ; that is, 
the appeal to the ear, except in some instances, should 
precede the appeal to the eye. 

TALKING DURING THE EXHIBITION OF THE PICTURE 

In those cases where the speaker finds it necessary to talk 
during the exhibition of a picture, he should face the audience 
as much as possible so that his words will be distinctly heard. 
In scientific lectures, when the picture of an instrument or 
apparatus is being shown, it may be necessary for the speaker 
to point out certain features which would go unobserved if he 
did not point them out during the exhibition of it. But, if while 
pointing out these features, he faces the picture instead of the 
audience, many persons will be unable to hear what he has to 
say about it. A speaker ought to become so familiar with the 



Appeal to the Eye Through Pictures 37 

subject to the picture, that he can point out its important fea- 
tures without diminishing the audibility of his spoken words. 
Too many speakers talk more to the picture than to the audi- 
ence, with the result that their explanatory words are more or 
less wasted because they are not heard in every part of the 
auditorium. 

For the above reasons, it is better that a speaker should re- 
frain from talking at all during the exhibition of a picture if, 
when talking, he causes a strained effort on the part of his aud- 
itors to hear him. Whenever it is possible, pictures should be 
used that contain printed words explaining features which can- 
not well be described beforehand. The appeal will then be en- 
tirely to the eye while the picture is being shown. But in those 
cases where this cannot be done, the speaker should be so fa- 
miliar with the subject of the picture that, when he talks about 
it during its exhibition, the audience will hear every word that 
he says. 

In this connection, it is well to say that a speaker should 
not talk to the floor during the exhibition of the picture, or at 
any other time, for his words will not bounce out to the audi- 
ence any more than they will rebound to it when they are 
directed to the picture behind him. 

USE OF THE POINTER 

In scientific lectures, and addresses involving the use of 
pictures containing unmarked features that might go unob- 
served if they were not pointed out during the exhibition of 
the picture, it is proper for a speaker to use a pointer for this 
purpose. For example, during a lecture on the erosion of 
metals, the speaker may exhibit a picture showing the effects 
of erosion upon a gas engine cylinder. By the use of a pointer, 
the speaker may point out to the audience the places in the 
cylinder where the erosion has occurred, thus enabling those 
who are partly or wholly unfamiliar with the subject, to see 
at once just what the effects of erosion are. 

The speaker should not use the pointer in a way that will 



38 Appeal to the Eye Through Pictures 

attract the attention of the audience to the pointer rather than 
to the features of the picure which he desires to bring out by it. 
Therefore, the speaker should not play with the pointer; nor 
should he scrape it upon the floor or screen. Instead, he should 
hold it firmly in his right hand when in use ; and if the inter- 
vals between its use are long, he should place it in a corner or 
lay it upon a table near him. 

When the picture itself contains words that explain it, 
the pointer should not be used, nor should the speaker talk 
while the picture is being shown, except in those instances 
where the wording on the picture itself is not sufficient to 
explain its full meaning. Only pictures that are apt, attractive 
and complete should be selected for the illustration of a talk, 
lecture or address, so that when the picture is shown, it will 
speak for itself. 

MOTION PICTURES 

The motion picture is undoubtedly the most popular and 
efficient medium for reproducing the happenings of life, and 
should be used by a speaker, whenever possible, to illustrate, 
amplify or reinforce the strong points of his talk, lecture or 
address. The rules heretofore given apply with particular 
force to the exhibition of motion pictures. In fitting words 
the speaker should introduce each reel, or portion of the reel 
dealing with a particular subject, and then he should refrain, 
as much as possible, from speaking while it is being shown. 
Apt, explanatory wording should appear on the pictures them- 
selves, so that while they are being shown, they will make a 
concentrated appeal to the eye alone. Like the stationary one. 
the motion picture, in most instances, should be employed as 
a powerful climax of the speaker's words. 



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